Sao Paulo — A man shot four people dead in a cathedral outside of Sao Paulo on Tuesday, before killing himself in one of the worst mass shootings in Brazil’s recent history. Euler Grandolpho, 49, can be seen on video surveillance footage walking pew by pew spraying parishioners with bullets while they scrambled to exit the church.

The shooting comes months before Brazil’s legislature is expected to vote on a controversial bill to loosen gun laws, a key campaign promise of right-wing President-elect Jair Bolsonaro.

The shooting appeared to be premeditated.

While gun violence is rampant in Brazil, mass shootings are rare. Many Brazilians are calling for looser gun laws to protect themselves against an epidemic of violence that led to more than 60,000 homicides last year, a record.

Bolsonaro, a former army captain, has pledged to crack down on crime and make it easier for average citizens to arm themselves. Currently, Brazil’s laws limit gun ownership to police officers and select citizens who can prove their need for a gun. Brazil’s legislature is set to vote on a new law that would allow the use of guns in self-defense and lower the legal age to purchase a gun from 25 to 21.

Most Brazilians oppose the bill, and security experts argue that more guns could inflate Brazil’s already high crime rates. Still, the bill, a cornerstone of Bolsonaro’s tough-on-crime platform, is expected to pass with a simple majority early next year.

Whoever those alleged "security experts" are seem not to understand that the crime rate is due to the criminals, not guns. It's not a matter of access to guns, as the criminals already have them or can get them. This is simply about allowing legal access to the law abiding, who aren't the problem.